Running to the Point of No Return
by EchidnaPower
Summary: Sonic is the fastest thing alive, and Amy is told that that's the biggest obstacle keeping her and Sonic away from each other. But what's she supposed to do to keep up with him, when there's NO ONE fast enough to keep up with him? Read to find out! Sonamy and implied Taiream.
1. Chapter 1

**This story has been rattling around in my brain for quite some time now, and finally I decided to stop it from just collecting proverbial dust in my hard drive and post it. I hope you enjoy the first installment of this little mini-series. Just something that needs to be said first though...this story is based on MODERN continuity, this is NOT a Sonic Boom based story...ANYWAY, on with the show! I own nothing except the story.  
** _

"Sonic! SOOOONIC!"

Sonic sighed as he heard the shrill voice of the young pink hedgehog ringing in his ears once again. Per the norm, Amy was looking to once again convince him to go on a date with her. _"Why won't she understand?"_ Sonic came to a stop and turned around to face her, and she soon came up to him, panting in exhaustion.

"Gosh Sonic, I really wish you'd slow down every once in a while."

Sonic winced at the thought of himself slowing down, he lived for speed after all, he wasn't the fastest thing alive for no reason. "What is it Amy?"

"Well..." Amy started wringing her hands, "I was just wondering if...maybe you'd like to...hang out for a bit at Twinkle Park, you know, for fun."

Sonic was slightly impressed by the fact that Amy hadn't flat out asked him to marry her or go out on a romantic date like she normally did, but still, he couldn't bring himself to do it. "Amy, thing is...I got stuff to do." Seeing her downtrodden expression he tried to quickly add an explanation, "And besides, you wouldn't be able to keep up with me anyway..." She still looked sad, "Don't take it personally or anything Amy, it's not _you, no one_ can keep up with me."

"You let _Tails_ tag along with you." Amy spat, her sadness now converted into rage.

Sonic backed up a few steps with his hands up in a placating gesture, "Whoa, that's because he has a plane! And even _then_ he loses me sometimes."

"So that's it then? You're _so_ fast that I can _never_ be with you?"

"You make it sound so...bad." Sonic rubbed the back of his neck in guilt.

Amy sighed hopelessly and turned to leave, "Seeya Sonic."

Sonic watched the girl leave with her heart broken once again. "Aww man." Sonic shook his head despondently, debating with himself whether or not he should make it up to her. "She'll get over it probably, after all, she always does." He zoomed off again towards Tails workshop in the Mystic Ruins, trying to convince himself the whole way that he'd done the right thing. _"She'd never be able to keep up with me...like I said..._ no one _can."_

Meanwhile, Amy had reached her home and was now on the phone, pouring her heart out to her best friend Cream. "And so he basically told me I was just too slow to be with him! I never thought that _that_ would be the problem!" Amy whined into her pink phone, "What am I gonna do Cream?"

Cream for her part, always did her best to comfort her friend, but being only six years old, her ability to give advice was average at best. "I don't know Amy...but you're smart, I'm sure you'll figure _something_ out!"

Amy sat up on her bed, "It doesn't have anything to do with _brains_ Cream...and it doesn't have anything to do with body either." Amy started grumbling bitterly, "I could probably look like Rouge and be smarter than Tails and _still_ not qualify!"

Cream shook her head sadly, "I wish I could do something to help Amy, but I don't know what to do."

Amy sighed, "It's ok Cream, just having you to listen to me rant is enough for me, I appreciate it."

"You're welcome...so are you gonna be ok?" the little rabbit asked sympathetically.

"I guess..." Amy flopped back onto her bed, running her fingers through her short pink quills, "I mean...there's _gotta_ be more to life than Sonic...right?"

"Um...I don't know... _is_ there more to life than Mr. Sonic?" Cream knew that Amy spent most of her time thinking about the blue hedgehog, so she honestly wasn't sure what Amy's answer would be.

Amy thought for a few moments, before hanging her head and sighing in defeat. "I guess...but...it's really hard when you have to ignore your heart's one true desire..." Amy dabbed at her eyes a bit with the back of her hand, wiping away the tears that were beginning to build up. "I'll talk to you later Cream, thanks for listening to me...again."

"You're welcome Amy." the young girl replied sympathetically. "Don't worry, everything will be ok."

"Maybe. Bye." Amy hung up the phone and turned over so she was on her belly, squeezing the pillow on her bed tightly in her arms. She then began to quietly weep, and eventually she fell into a dreamless sleep thanks to the exhaustion caused by her angst.  
_

 **A/N: Just so you guys know, this is NOT where it ends. This SO isn't my style of story...or it wouldn't be if I decided to end it here, oh no, there's still more to come. It should be only five chapters tops, and it won't be particularly long (as long as it doesn't take on a life of its own). If you liked what you read, please review and let me know what you thought. I want to know what you guys think. See you guys next time.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm just knocking this thing out of the park, aren't I? Well, truth be told, I'm suffering from writer's block on a lot of my other stories, so I'm hoping putting this one that's been floating around in my brain for a while will get me back in the swing of things. Again, it's short, but it's not supposed to become a novel. Hopefully you guys enjoy and this story will start getting more reviews. I own nothing except the story.  
** _

"Aww come on Tails!"

The world's fastest hedgehog had gone to his best friend's house to try and get some reassurance for what had happened earlier between him and the spunky pink hedgehog. Surely if anyone could understand and side with him, it would be his little brother Tails.

"Sorry Sonic, I'm with Amy on this one."

Unfortunately, his expectations were very abruptly shot down after he finished telling the story of what happened.

"You _really_ need to work on your brotherly support buddy." Sonic scoffed and laid down in a nearby window, kicking one leg over his knee and placing his arms behind his head, his eyes closed as he scowled in disappointment.

Tails shook his head and rolled his eyes before turning around in his chair, away from the computer he'd been working at. "Believe me, telling you the _truth_ is already giving you _way_ more support than you deserve right now."

Sonic opened one eye and glared at the fox, "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

Tails sighed and shook his head. Every once in a while Sonic would come to him looking for support (usually about Amy, ironically enough), and he would have to suck it up and give his older brother a reality check. In a lot of ways, he looked up to Sonic...in some ways, he wished Sonic would grow up. This was one of those times. "You came here so I could tell you what you _want_ to hear, not what you _need_ to hear. I'll admit Amy's a little overzealous a lot of the time, but you don't exactly help things by constantly dismissing her the way you do."

Sonic scoffed and closed his eye again, bouncing his foot against his knee as his restlessness began to grow. "I only dismiss her because-"

"I _know,_ you say you don't like her that way." Tails rolled his eyes again and walked over to the blue hedgehog, who opened one eye to look at him when he heard the twin-tailed fox approach. "I'm not gonna get into a debate with you about what your feelings towards Amy are, that's between you and her...but what I _will_ say is that this new excuse you came up with is the worst one I've heard yet!"

Both of Sonic's eyes opened this time, and his smug expression began to dissolve as guilty thoughts began to invade his conscience. "It's not like it was a _lie."_ he argued back with a mumble.

"No, it wasn't a lie, but I repeat, it was the _worst_ excuse I've _ever_ heard!" the fox boy glared, "You told her that the reason she couldn't be with you was because _you're too fast?_ What does that even _mean?!"_

Sonic sighed and hopped out of the window, rubbing the back of his head with his hand as he tried to get his thoughts in order. "I dunno man...I guess the best way I can explain it is that I enjoy my freedom, and being _with_ someone is basically a way of taking away that freedom."

Tails crossed his arms, "I get the context you're using, but just for the record, _we_ hang out just fine and I'm not as fast as you either."

Sonic narrowed his eyes at the fox, "You have a plane." he deadpanned, "And besides, _you_ don't tie me down. Do you know what I would have to do if I got with _anyone?_ Leave Amy outta this for a sec and replace her with any girl! I would have to cater to whatever she wants, go shopping with her, give up all my time and put tons of effort into just making sure she's happy!" Sonic's voice had raised to a yell at this point, as the horror of his soliloquy got to him. "I mean seriously! Talk about cramping my style! I am Sonic the Hedgehog, the fastest thing alive! Do you have any idea how much I would have to _slow down_ by having a girlfriend?! I LIVE for speed!" Sonic was panting in-between outbursts at this point, and Tails just stared in a stunned silence at the hyped-up blue hedgehog.

"Sonic..." Tails coughed into his fist before continuing. Needless to say, Sonic's little story had left him somewhat speechless. "I understand what you're saying, I know how much you love running, it's part of what makes you, YOU...but you gotta try and look at this from Amy's point of view. She's no slouch in the speed department, if she were, she'd never be able to keep up with you for even a few _seconds..._ but she _tries_ Sonic."

Sonic sighed and ran his fingers through his quills in frustration, "Yeah, I know..." he looked up at the ceiling as if searching for answers before dropping his head with a slow shake. "I don't mean to make it sound like you and Amy and the others are slowpokes or anything, but just the idea of me having to _slow down?"_ he shuddered. "It makes my skin crawl like you wouldn't believe."

Tails also sighed and shook his head, but he did it in disappointment. "I can't help you Sonic, if you're waiting for me to tell you that you did the right thing, you better get comfortable because you're gonna be waiting a long time. From what you told me, you really hurt her feelings, and if I were you, I'd find her and apologize before things get any worse. I know you say you don't like her that way, but I _also_ know that you hate it when she's mad at you, and that's what's gonna happen unless you swallow your pride and say you're sorry."

Sonic gave a long and weary sigh for maybe the fifth time since they'd started their deep conversation and just shook his head to try and clear the cobwebs out of his mind. "I need to go for a run." Mere seconds later, the spot Sonic had been in was empty, and the only reminder of Sonic's presence was the gust of wind he left behind when he took off.

Tails, for his part, just sighed and started picking up the blueprints that Sonic's gust had strewn about all over the floor. "You're trying so hard to deny it Sonic, if the only way you'd let Amy in is if she was as fast as you, then she may as well give up-" Tails's head shot up as he was hit with a sudden brainstorm. "Maybe that's it!" Before he could begin to create any sort of plans, a knock on his door pulled him out of his imaginative little world. "Who could that be?" Tails placed his now rolled up blueprints onto a table and went to the door, and a look through the peephole revealed who would bother to knock on his door. "Cream?"  
_

 **A/N: So now we've had some Sonic and Tails action, and now we have Cream knocking on Tails's door. What does she want? What's Tails's plan? Why am I asking questions you all might ask me? The answers lie ahead, so stay tuned. R &R!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here we are again...college has kicked back in so I won't be able to devote much time...again. Sigh, SOOO much work to get done, it's overwhelming. Luckily I was able to buckle down and get this done. If it wasn't as short as it is, I'd never be able to pull this off. At any rate, enjoy. I own nothing except the story.  
** _

When Tails heard the knock on his door, he honestly wasn't sure who it would be. Obviously it wasn't Sonic since not only did he just leave a couple of minutes earlier, but the speedy blue hedgehog _never_ knocked. Sonic would just come and go as he pleased without hesitation, and there would be times when Tails found Sonic snoring on his couch when he woke up in the morning...or worse, hanging out on his roof, which then led to some rather tedious roofing work as the tiles would need to be replaced since Sonic wasn't exactly the gentlest guy around.

But for the visitor to be Cream of all people, needless to say he was rather stunned. Cream didn't usually come to visit unannounced, and when she _did_ come, she would always bring her pet Chao Cheese with her. This time however, she hadn't done either of those things. To add to the list of unusual circumstances...Cream was frowning. Anyone who knew the young rabbit would tell you that she was almost _always_ happy, in fact at times her smile was simply infectious and she could make anyone feel better no matter what was bothering them. For her to be upset or sad about something, it had to be a _big_ something.

"Cream, is that you?" the twin-tailed fox said through the door.

"Yes, it's me." the little girl responded in her usually high voice, "Can I come in Tails? There's something I want to talk to you about."

Her voice sounded sad, and that alarmed the fox boy, as whatever it was Cream had on her mind, it had to be weighing heavily on her. Without wasting another moment, Tails opened the door and gestured in a gentlemanly fashion for her to come in. That small action got the rabbit to relinquish a small smile before she walked in, and Tails followed in after her before closing the door behind him. "So...is there something I can help you with Cream?" Tails tilted his head slightly to one side.

Cream folded her hands behind her back and scuffed the sole of her shoe against the floor, looking down at it as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. "Well...it isn't really _me_ that needs help," she began somewhat hesitantly before lifting her head just slightly so she could look at him through the top of her eyes, "It's Amy."

Tails's eyes widened a bit at that, "Amy needs help?"

Cream slowly nodded, "You see, she called me earlier today to tell me about what happened between her and Mr. Sonic today, and she seemed _really_ sad about it. I want to help her, but I just don't know how." she looked up at him completely now and her eyes locked with his, "I know you're really smart Tails, so I flew here to ask you for advice. What can I do to help Amy feel better?"

Tails mouth hung open slightly as the realization hit him. Amy had told Cream about her encounter with Sonic, and now this was the result of Cream's guilt since she didn't know how to help her big sister figure. For anything else, Cream probably would have gone over to Amy's house with some cookies or tea or something like that, but since this issue was about Sonic - and knowing what he did thanks to Sonic's point of view - the fox boy realized that the only thing that would make things better for Amy going forward, was Sonic. "I think I have an idea of what we need to do."

"You do?" Cream looked up at him hopefully.

Tails grinned and walked over to his computer, and he immediately opened up a program and started typing away at lightning speed. "Cream, call Amy and tell her to come to my workshop right away, tell her it's an emergency if you have to, but make sure she comes here!"

The rabbit girl frowned at that, "You want me to _lie_ to Amy?" she whimpered.

Tails flinched. Definitely a bad choice of words on his part, especially considering who he was talking to. He turned around in his chair and looked at her with a soft smile, "It's not _really_ lying, it depends on what you consider an emergency! Amy's happiness is super important to us, right?" Tails was encouraged by Cream's hesitant nod. "So that means we need to make her happy as soon as possible, and the best way for us to do that is if she comes here! So it kinda _is_ an emergency!"

"Ohh...ok then!" Cream skipped off to find a telephone while Tails wiped his forehead with the back of his fist in relief. Cream was the sweetest girl in the world, but she was naive, and for Tails, that worked out in his favor for this occasion.

 _"Next time, think before you speak."  
_

 _xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

A loud, urgent banging came from the door to Tails's workshop, and as soon as he heard it, the twin-tailed fox flew over to open it. "Come in-"

 ***WHAM***

"I'm here guys! What's the emergency?! Just lemme at it!" Amy burst through the door with her signature Piko Piko Hammer ready to swing at whatever danger was present that prompted her little sister to make such an urgent phone call, but after a few moments, all she saw was Cream staring in horror at the door with her hands over her mouth and tears beginning to well up in her eyes. She also noticed the distinct lack of bright orange fur. "Where's Tails?"

"Um...y-you..." Cream hesitantly pointed behind her, and when Amy turned around to see what it was she referring to, she gasped in horror and made her hammer disappear as she went over to tend to the young boy who'd been smashed behind the door by her dramatic outburst.

"I'm so sorry Tails! Are you ok?!"

"Fy mo mins ma..." Tails wobbled a bit before falling face-first to the ground. The two girls each grabbed one of his arms and pulled him up, and after a violent shake of his head, the fox boy was able to regain his bearings. "Ugh...nice to see you too Amy."

"Well Cream said it was an emergency! _Sorry_ if I overreacted a little." The pink hedgehog crossed her arms in annoyance, her cheeks puffed out as she looked in the other direction.

"It _is_ an emergency!" Cream squeaked out, "We want to make sure you're happy again as soon as possible, so we needed you to come here so we could do that!"

Amy's angry expression slowly morphed into what could be considered a blank stare, as she blinked a few times while Cream just smiled up at her in blissful innocence. _"That's..._ the emergency?" Cream nodded at her, still smiling. "There's no _danger_ or something that could get you guys _hurt..._ just me being _unhappy."_

"That's right!" Cream's smile grew bigger as she nodded vigorously, "We love you Amy, so we want to make you happy again! Tails explained it to me!"

Amy gave the tiniest of smirks as she relinquished a sighing laugh, face-palming in the process. "I think we're going to have to have a _long_ conversation about what an _emergency_ is."

"Uh, later ok?" Tails walked past the two girls and sat down in his chair, his fingers steepled as he looked at the pink hedgehog with interest, "So I heard about what happened between you and Sonic earlier today-"

"Ugh, don't even _mention_ that smart-alecky, egotistical, _inconsiderate_ hedgehog's name around me!" Amy raged as her fists clenched tightly, "Of all the pathetic and ridiculous excuses he could've offered to avoid not hanging out with me, _'I'm too fast',_ UGH, _REALLY?!"_

"I agree!" Tails shouted in order to get Amy's rant to stop. He hopped off his chair and walked over to the huffing and puffing girl who was still clearly put out. "But I think I might have a solution to this whole stupid mess!" Tails grinned when Amy cocked an eyebrow in apparent skepticism. "Amy, what would you say if I told you...that I could make you as fast as Sonic the Hedgehog?"  
-

 **A/N: Amy as fast as Sonic? Blasphemy! What's Tails planning? You guys will just have to wait and see what our favorite twin-tailed fox has up his proverbial sleeves. If you liked it, review! See you guys next time...whenever that is. *sobs***


	4. Chapter 4

**Welcome back to another installment of this story, which I was able to get back to after a LONG week of working on various projects. Today we'll see what Tails is planning, and how he plans to get his plan out of the mere planning stages...plan. Uh, yeah, enjoy! I own nothing except the story.  
** _

"Me...?" Amy slowly pointed to herself in shock, "As...as fast as... _Sonic?"_ the pink hedgehog's rage had instantly been quelled as a feeling of numb shock overpowered every synapse in her brain. The idea that Tails was proposing was inconceivable to the twelve-year old girl. "Tails I...I can't be as fast as Sonic, _no one's_ as fast as Sonic!" she sighed sadly and dropped her hands and head, "As much as I hate to say it, he was right about _one_ thing...he's the fastest thing alive, and no one else really comes close."

"What about Mr. Shadow?" Cream spoke up, _"He's_ as fast as Mr. Sonic!"

Amy shook her head, "Shadow doesn't count, he has those air-shoes of his, and they probably give him an extra speed boost. Without them, Sonic's still faster."

"That Mr. Sonic _robot_ that Dr. Eggman made? _He's_ fast!"

Amy's quills bristled a bit at Cream's mentioning of the robotic version of her beloved Sonic, needless to say there were some bad memories associated with that particular creation of Eggman's. _"IT,_ " the pink hedgehog practically snarled, "Isn't even real, it may be as fast as Sonic but it isn't _alive,_ so _it_ doesn't count either."

"True, all true, but you're no slouch yourself you know, you can really move when you want to." Tails pointed out as he walked back over to his computer.

Amy's narrowed eyes followed him as the fox boy went over and sat in his chair and began working. "Fat lotta good _that_ does me, even at my _full speed_ Sonic could still run circles around me, _running backwards!"_

Tails ignored her ranting and just continued typing, finally ending with a harsh press of the enter key. Once done with that, he turned around in his chair just as a hatch opened up in the floor, raising up a strange looking treadmill that featured the original Tornado's color scheme. "Get on the treadmill Amy."

Amy crossed her arms and sneered, "What're you trying to say Tails?"

"Not what _you're_ thinking." Tails replied smoothly, "This isn't an exercise treadmill, this is a device I designed specifically a while back to test exactly what Sonic's top speed was...and that's exactly what we're gonna do here for you."

"What good will that do?"

Tails sighed exasperatedly and shook his head, "Amy, just get on the treadmill, I'll explain more after we get started."

Amy looked at the treadmill in uncertainty, but then Cream spoke up and gained her attention, "Please Amy, Tails _must_ have a good reason to do this! Please? We want to help you!"

The pink hedgehog exhaled through her nose and finally relented. She stepped onto the treadmill and looked at the panel for any buttons, but there was a problem. "So...what am I supposed to do? There's no buttons on this thing, I can't start it."

"Just leave that to me, I'll be monitoring your speed and adjusting it accordingly when you give me the go ahead to increase it. You ready?"

Amy shrugged, "Ready as I'll ever be I guess."

Tails smiled and pressed a few keys, and moments later, the treadmill got started, and so did Amy. "Ok Amy, I'm starting you off slowly at first, and then the treadmill will gradually go faster until you tell me to stop. I'm gonna get you up to 100 miles per hour starting off."

"Say what?!" Before Amy could even react though, the treadmill was starting to pick up speed, and the pink hedgehog was forced to do the same in order to keep from getting flung off, "Tails, are you crazy?! I can't run 100 miles an hour!"

"Yes you can! You ran _faster_ than that when you went up against Eggman's Egg Fleet a while back to save Froggy and Chocola, remember? Now just relax and don't be nervous, focus on keeping up with the treadmill!" Tails slowly turned a dial on his console clockwise, and the treadmill started going even faster. "Increasing speed to 150 miles an hour."

"I believe in you Amy, you can do it!" Cream cheered as her big sister figure's face screwed into a determined scowl, and she began running faster to keep up with the specially designed treadmill. "You're doing it Amy! You're going _really fast!"_

Amy grinned in spite of the effort she was putting forth, she could feel the muscles in her legs beginning to ache from the exertion of going faster than she was truly used to going. She'd only reached speeds like this once in her life, and she was being spurred on by the responsibility of being the leader of her own team of heroes and the determination to help them find their friends and Sonic at the time. "I can do this! Pour it on Tails!"

Tails grinned and turned the dial even more, "Startin' to feel the burn a little bit?"

"Feels _awesome!"_

"I can tell, your neurotransmitter levels have elevated substantially since the beginning of the test."

"Once more, in English please!" the pink hedgehog exclaimed breathlessly.

Tails chuckled, "Sorry. Basically, you're not feeling as sad as you were when we started..." Tails turned back to his console and scratched his chin, "Actually...your brain patterns highly resemble Sonic's whenever he goes past 700 miles per hour."

"Say _what?!"_ Amy was suddenly shot across the lab as the shock of Tails' statement caught her extremely off-guard and caused her to stop running. Luckily, the fox boy had the foresight to place an airbag (inside of another airbag) used by stuntmen across his wall, preventing the pink hedgehog from suffering any serious injury...other than a bruised ego. She shook her head to regain her composure before sitting up. "Tails...I wasn't gonna be able to go much faster than that, exactly how fast _is_ Sonic?"

Tails grimaced and began twiddling his thumbs, looking down at the ground as he didn't want to look Amy in the eye. "Uh well, you knew going in that you weren't gonna be as fast as Sonic, so it really doesn't make any difference how fast _he_ can go!" Tails quickly turned in his seat back to his console, "So let's just check out the test results and-"

"HOW FAST IS HE?!"

This time Tails slowly turned around to face Amy, who was currently being helped up by Cream. With a long exhale through his nose, Tails got up and walked over to her. "Well...Sonic has broken the sound barrier a number of times before, and it's more than likely he's even faster than that, my treadmill doesn't go that high."

Amy's eyes narrowed dangerously at the young scientist. "And what exactly is your treadmill's highest setting?"

Tails sighed, "Approximately 775 miles an hour, just slightly beyond the speed of sound." he said despondently.

Amy's jaw dropped, she'd always known that Sonic's claim to fame was how he could move at the speed of sound, but she'd never truly known how fast that was. Looking back for something to sit on, the pink hedgehog fell back onto the landing pad and placed her head in her hands. "That's it then. I'm doomed."

"Oh Amy, it'll be ok, I'm sure Tails has a plan!" Cream said comfortingly before looking over at Tails with a hopeful expression, "Right Tails?"

"As a matter of fact, I do!" Tails rushed back over to his console and typed in a new program, and then he took a scanning device with a handle so he could hold it like a gun and walked over to Amy. "Stand over by that wall and hold out your arms, it's time for the next phase of my plan." Tails pointed over to the far wall of his lab.

"This is starting to get ridiculous." Amy sighed. With a little coaxing from Cream who was pulling on her hand, the twelve-year old girl trudged over to the wall and stood there glaring at the fox boy. "So what's that thing supposed to do?"

Tails gestured to his device, "This is a scanner I designed that will scan your body and send a virtual blueprint to my computer that will contain all of the necessary information for me to begin the next step of my plan to increase your speed. That information and virtual blueprint will enable me to design a tracksuit that will augment your preexisting speed to levels which - in theory - will allow you to keep with Sonic's."

"Huh?" Cream squeaked, her head tilted to one side in confusion.

"Basically, if I understood it correctly, he's gonna scan me and make me a suit that'll make me run faster." Amy smiled at the little rabbit who beamed upon understanding the concept. Then she went back to glaring at Tails. "I have just one question for you Tails...is that thing gonna read my _measurements_ too?"

Tails desperately fought to prevent the incoming blush from reaching his cheeks, "Uh well, not...primarily..."

The fox boy's use of a big word didn't fool her. "Tails..." she growled.

"Well...yes, it's going to give me your measurements. B-But I'm not gonna do anything _bad_ with them, I swear!" he exclaimed defensively, "I need your measurements so I can design the tracksuit to fit your body!"

"Well...alright..."

"Besides, it's not like there's really anything there for me to see right? You're not _Rouge_ or anything."

"Tails!"

Tails sweat-dropped in fear, his hands up in a placatory gesture, "W-What I mean is, you're still really young! So puberty hasn't really hit you that hard yet! I-I'm sure in a couple of years you'll be giving Rouge a serious run for her money in the chest area!"

"TAILS!"

When Amy's signature Piko-Piko Hammer appeared out of nowhere, the fox boy gulped and rushed to hide behind Cream, who actually looked rather nervous herself. "Maybe I should just stop talking and get on with the job." he said with a wavering voice.

"Maybe you should." Amy hissed.

Still using Cream as a shield, he slowly nudged the rabbit forward so he could get close enough to use the scanner on Amy, who was glowering fiercely at him as a blue beam of light enveloped her body. _"One of these days I'm gonna learn how to keep my big mouth shut."  
__

 **A/N: Ahh Tails, you really stuck your foot in your mouth this time. Never, EVER comment on a woman's measurements, and ESPECIALLY don't compare them to someone else's. I would've had Amy mutilate him for those comments...but Tails kinda needs to be in one piece for the plan to work. He can't very well make the tracksuit if he's dead, now can he?**

 **So next chapter we'll have a few more details about the plan, and maybe we'll get into the head of a certain blue hedgehog while we're at it. This is the longest chapter of this story to date I believe, which isn't a bad thing. After writing huge chapters for so long, it feels awkward for me to write little drabbles like these. In any case, see you next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok everyone, time for another chapter. Now that Tails has stuck his foot in his mouth, let's see if he can get it back out...ahh who am I kidding? Also, prepare for some technobabble, and some slightly angsty Sonic. I own nothing except the story.  
** _

It took a little while for Amy to cool off after Tails' several verbal faux pas, but any negative thoughts about her body that had been floating around in her head was quickly removed when she got a good look at the work that Tails was doing on his computer. As promised, the scanner had taken all of her physical attributes and sent the data into the fox boy's computer, where it was all being used to create a digital blueprint of what appeared to be a skintight outfit. "The design leaves a little something to be desired, doesn't it?"

Tails made a face at the pink hedgehog before going back to his work, "You can make it pretty later." The computer zoomed in on the jumpsuit and enlarged the image as it rotated clockwise on the screen, random pop-up windows of data appearing periodically, "First I have to finish working on the _important_ parts of the suit."

"I take my fashion choices _very_ seriously and consider them _very_ important, thank you very much."

"Oh?" Tails looked her up and down with an eyebrow raised before turning back to his computer, "Then maybe you should look into wearing something other than that same red dress and boots every once in a while." Suddenly Tails felt a cold chill run down his spine, and as he slowly turned around, he saw Amy - more specifically, Amy's hammer - come into his line of sight. "I did it again, didn't I?" he gulped.

"Let me ask you something Tails, what would you like me to put on your _tombstone?"_ the young hedgehog snarled.

Tails gulped again and put his hands up in surrender, "The line 'he died of old age' has a nice ring to it."

"Well I _do_ see some grey fur in certain areas that weren't there before."

"That's not age," the fox boy was sweating bullets now, "That's the result of me fearing for my life three times in the past ten minutes."

"Amy! We'll never be able to help you if you keep scaring him!" Cream exclaimed.

Amy took a glance at the young rabbit who was looking at her pleadingly with her hands folded in front of her chest. Then she looked over at Tails who grinned weakly, and the pink hedgehog huffed and made her hammer disappear as she crossed her arms in frustration, "I'm gonna say this as nicely as I can...stop trying to be _clever,_ and stick to just being _smart._ There's a fine line between the two, _learn it."_

Tails decided to remain silent and just nodded, then he sent a grateful look Cream's way before going back to his work. "First thing that I need to do is work out the wiring inside the sleeves and pant legs of the suit. Using a special variation of electromyostimulation of my own design, I plan to intensify your body's velocity productivity by stimulating your hip flexors, extensors and gluteus maximus with meticulously measured electrical impulses."

Both Amy and Cream just blinked before looking at each other in utter bewilderment, "I have no idea what he said."

"Me either." Cream squeaked, "Tails, we know you're very smart, but could you please use words that Amy and I can understand?"

Tails chuckled and nodded, "Ok, research has shown that the most important muscles in the body for _any_ runner are the hip muscles and the um..." Tails cleared his throat, "Butt muscles...please don't hurt me."

Amy rolled her eyes, "Just get on with it."

"Right." Tails couldn't help but sigh in relief, and he continued his explanation, "Normally, electromyostimulation, more commonly called electrical muscle stimulation, causes adaptation, i.e. training, of muscle fibers. Because of the characteristics of skeletal muscle fibers, different types of fibers can be activated to differing degrees by different types of EMS, and the modifications induced depend on the pattern of EMS activity. These patterns, referred to as protocols or programs, will cause a different response from contraction of different fiber types. Some programs will improve fatigue resistance, i.e. endurance, others will increase force production."

"O...k..." Amy said hesitantly, running her hand through her quills.

"I still don't know what that means." Cream sighed.

"The point is, my plan is to make Amy a suit that utilizes this same type of idea, but instead of merely giving her help in training, it will also enable her to reach speeds she never would be able to on her own, as the suit will basically electrically charge her muscles so that their overall strength and endurance are increased whenever she's wearing it." Tails pressed the print button on his keyboard, and several different blueprints started coming out of the printer next to his console.

"Oh, I see...so basically...you're trying to _fry me!"_

Tails sighed deeply and face-palmed. "No, Amy...I'm not." Tails pulled the blueprints from the printer and started rolling them up.

"Do you realize what you're saying Tails? You're putting _electricity_ into my _body..._ in case you haven't noticed, I am _not_ a light bulb!"

"Gimme a little more credit than that." Tails scoffed, "I'm being extremely careful with this project, and not just because you'd kill me otherwise." Amy gave the fox a deadpan look at that comment. "The way I'm going to configure the suit will ensure that you won't feel any actual pain from the suit's effects, but what you _will_ feel is this sort of energy surge in your muscles, which in turn will drive you to run faster."

"That doesn't sound very comfortable Tails." Cream spoke up, "What if she gets tired?"

Tails relinquished a sincere smile when Cream asked her question. At least Cream seemed legitimately interested in understanding what was going on instead of just making snide comments. "Included in the design of the suit will be two power bracelets that Amy will be able to adjust based on her personal preference, kinda like Shadow's inhibitor rings."

"Wow Tails, you've thought of everything!" Cream exclaimed, "You see Amy? I knew Tails would be able to help!"

"Yeah, looks like it." Amy smirked, "You did good fox boy...and...thanks."

Tails smiled, "My pleasure Amy. As soon as this project is finished, you'll be on par with Sonic the Hedgehog's speed!"

Amy wanted to squeal with joy, but she managed to restrict it to just internal cheering. "I can't believe this is happening."

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

 _"I can't believe this is happening."_

Usually, going on a long run did wonders for the blue hedgehog's psyche...but this time, all that was running through his mind was the heartbroken expression on a certain pink hedgehog's face...the expression that he had caused. _"I dunno why I should feel guilty, it's not like I lied or anything."_

Sonic accelerated further, as visions of Amy in tears swarmed in his mind. He fought to focus on the feeling of the wind in his face, as he picked up more and more speed. Soon the visions began to fade from his mind, as the wind flowing through his quills and the feeling of his legs pumping harder as he ran took over any thoughts of the mistake he'd made. Sonic shifted into another gear and his sensitive hearing picked up the distinct sound of a sonic boom behind him as he broke the sound barrier, and he belted out a whoop of joy as he zoomed across the vast plains of Mobius.

 _"Ahh yeah, this is what it's all about!"_

Sonic continued to accelerate faster, focusing on nothing else but his current speed, and picking it up so that the feeling of exhilaration increased along with it. This was what he lived for, this was what he really loved, he never bluffed when he called himself the fastest thing alive, he may have said it like he was just being cocky, but he knew that it was actually the truth...and he loved it.

Sonic's heartbeat began to intensify as he sped ever faster, his muscles feeling the familiar - and surprisingly welcome - ache of reaching speeds past Mach 2. The world became nothing more than a multi-colored blur in his vision, but his well-honed senses ensured that he never ran into anything at these speeds. Oh yeah, this is just what the doctor ordered. Upon reaching his destination, Sonic slowed to a stop and took in the sight. A flowery meadow with a perfect view of the sunset, and a huge oak tree that he could lean against and take a good snooze whenever he wanted. This was his place, his special place that he ran to whenever he needed some time to himself.

 _"Amy would probably love it here."_

Sonic's serenity was instantly broken by that thought, as he frowned deeply and clenched his fists in frustration. Now even his private place had been invaded by the normally spunky pink hedgehog. Why had he said what he said? He mentally kicked himself for what he'd done. He could admit to himself he had come up with some pretty lame excuses before, but this last one had really taken the cake.

 _"Who am I kidding? Tails was right...that was probably the dumbest thing I've ever said in my life."_

Admitting it to himself didn't do much for the blue hedgehog's spirits. Shaking his head with a despondent sigh, Sonic walked over to the oak tree and leaned against the trunk and tried to get himself to relax. But as he closed his eyes, all he could see were visions of Amy, looking depressed because of his words.

 _"This is ridiculous...I told her the truth! I'm the fastest thing alive, I live for speed...if she really cared for me, she'd understand that!"_

That sounded good, but as Sonic continued to ponder, his ears drooped as he realized that he couldn't recall an occasion when Amy had insisted that Sonic ever give up his speed. Anything regarding that train of thought came from his own mind, conjured up by his own insecurities towards slowing down. What Amy had done though is say how much she admired him for everything he was, which included his signature speed. Screwing on a determined expression, Sonic clenched his fists again and got up from leaning against the tree. He still didn't intend on slowing down for Amy...but at the very least, he was willing to admit that it wasn't fair for him to leave things the way they currently were between him and her.

 _"I gotta make things right."_

Sonic took off running back towards Amy's house, knowing full well that his ego was likely about to take a rather significant bruising by what he was planning. He never liked admitting his faults, and whenever he was forced to, he would often try to shrug it off like it wasn't worth his time...but for reasons even he wasn't sure of, Sonic had no intention of approaching this situation that way. He wanted Amy to know that he was truly sorry for what he'd said, no matter how much his pride would feel the punishment.

 _"I really hope this works...Tails was right, I don't want Amy mad at me...and this is my best shot at fixing things."_

He pushed his speed to its limits as he tried to steel himself for his newest and potentially most difficult mission ever: sincerely apologizing...and not just that, but apologizing to Amy Rose.  
_

 **A/N: So...how'd I do? I will be the first to admit that I'm REALLY not good at writing angst, so I'm not sure what to think. Also, Tails' plan has been fully revealed...or has it? Next chapter you'll find out that something is missing in this little plot, and Tails is gonna have to jump through a lot of hoops to fill that void. See what it is in the next installment. Review please.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone, back for more with this story. Man am I beat, the amount of work I've been dealing with lately is beyond crazy, and now with another Sonic story in progress my time is stretched even thinner. BUT, inspiration told me to work here and so I have. Here's the next chapter of this little mini-story. I own nothing except the story.  
_**

It had been some time since Tails had begun the construction of the inner workings of Amy's speed suit, and at his behest, Amy had escorted Cream back home before she headed off to her own house for the night. His plan was going swimmingly, and the fox boy took a certain amount of pride in that. With the exception of a few misunderstandings that had threatened to prematurely end his life, _"That hammer of hers is a lethal weapon, where'd she even get it?"_ everything was going the way he'd expected.

He had gotten Amy's normal top speed, he'd gotten her measurements (which he later planned to forget via a memory eraser which he also planned to build someday) so that he could make sure the suit fit her body perfectly, and now that he was currently working on the technical parts of her suit, it seemed that nothing would be able to get in his way.

"Hey Tails!"

Nothing except a speedy blue hedgehog who needed to be kept in the dark about this whole thing.

"Shoot!" Tails hissed quietly to himself. Quickly gathering his equipment, Tails dumped it all into a pile on a nearby empty desk and put a bunch of random tools and wires with them. With any luck, Sonic would just think he'd forgotten to clean his lab again. "In here Sonic!"

Seconds later, Sonic appeared and looked around the room before his eyes landed on his little brother. "Hey Tails, you seen Amy anywhere?"

The fox boy's eyes widened a bit, Sonic was actually looking for Amy instead of the other way around? "Uh, no not really, haven't seen her all day." Tails inwardly gave thanks that Cream wasn't around to hear that blatant lie. "Why do you ask?"

"I just gotta talk to her about something."

"Uh huh." Tails smirked and crossed his arms, one eyebrow arched at the blue hedgehog whose face was quickly showing his annoyance as Tails smugly stared at him. "So does this mean you finally realized how _stupid_ and _arrogant_ you sounded?"

The speedster scowled. "I already feel bad Tails, you don't have to rub it in."

The twin-tailed fox put his hands up in a placatory gesture and turned around so he was facing his equipment again. Clearly Sonic wasn't interested in what he was doing, so he felt comfortable getting back to work. "That's fine, I'm just glad you finally realized that what you said to her was totally uncalled for. Fastest or not, that excuse just doesn't fly." He went back to working on the wiring on Amy's suit, and didn't even bat an eyelash when he sensed Sonic looking over his shoulder. "It's a new project I'm working on, just trying to get the wiring sorted out."

"Cool." Sonic stayed silent for a few moments before zipping to the table and leaning backwards against it. "Soooo, just to make sure, you have _no idea_ where Amy is right now, right?"

"I didn't say _that."_

Sonic scowled. "You _told me_ when I came in that you hadn't seen her all day."

Tails looked up from his wiring work. "And I haven't," that was a lie, but what Sonic didn't know wouldn't hurt Amy. "But you didn't ask me if I knew where she was, you asked me if I'd seen her." the fox boy chuckled at the dark look Sonic was now giving him and went back to twisting together wires. "She's probably at her house if you wanna go apologize to her. Why don't you ask her to take a run with you? That might make her feel better."

Sonic sucked in air through his teeth and ran his gloved hand through his quills. "Take her on a run? Ahh...I dunno if I'm willing to do that."

Tails suddenly frowned but didn't stop his work. "And why's that?"

"Well...it's the same thing we already talked about little bro, I'm _way_ faster than Amy, and taking her on a run would mean I'd have to slow down to let her keep up, it'd be like having a ball and chain tied around my ankle!" Sonic shivered at the thought.

"Then go _your_ speed and _carry_ her." Tails was trying to remain calm, but Sonic's issues were really starting to grate on his nerves. If nothing else it made him more determined to finish his project. "If you can't handle slowing down a little bit for her, then you can at least carry her so you can enjoy some time together, you've _gotta_ make it up to her _somehow."_

 _"Carrying_ her would be _worse_ than slowing down, but for a completely different reason." the blue hedgehog said matter-of-factly. "Look, I'm just gonna go to her house, apologize for what I said, and then we can all get back to our regularly scheduled lives. How's that for a plan huh?"

"Sounds terrible." Tails growled lowly enough so that Sonic couldn't hear. "Do whatever you want Sonic, I'm done playing games with you. You keep coming here in hopes that I'll tell you what you _want_ to hear, and that's just not my style."

"Alright, geez." Sonic huffed and rushed out the door, creating a wind that sent papers and blueprints flying everywhere.

As for Tails, he growled and got up from his chair to pick up the mess Sonic had made, again. The idea that he was unwilling to do anything proactive to make Amy feel better drove the young fox insane. Suddenly however, Tails stopped while he was hunched over to pick up a paper. Sonic refused to run with her, which meant there was no way for Amy to properly use the suit in a context that _wouldn't_ drive Sonic _further_ from Amy. "Great, that's just great." Sighing, Tails stopped what he was doing and decided to settle down for the night. Turning off the lights in his lab, Tails headed up to his bedroom and hopped into bed staring up at the ceiling for a few moments before closing his eyes. _"Now I gotta come up with something to get Sonic to run at all."_

Meanwhile, Sonic ran towards Amy's house at high speeds, grumbling to himself the whole time about snot-nosed, bratty foxes who thought they knew everything. "I dunno who spit in his cereal but he needs to chill out." Eventually, Sonic reached Amy's little apartment and was about to knock on the door when he suddenly stopped his fist just before it made contact with it. _"What am I supposed to say?"_ The blue hedgehog lowered his fist and stood there for a few moments, trying to come up with some sort of way to approach the situation.

 _"If I tell her that I'm sorry, I'm just gonna wind up having to do something with her to make up for it...like Tails said."_ Sonic growled to himself at that admission, then he looked up into the sky and saw the moon and stars shining above. _"It's late...by now Amy's asleep anyway."_ Turning around and running off once more, Sonic shook his head and once again tried to focus on the wind in his face. _"I'll take care of this tomorrow...somehow."_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was already eleven in the morning when Tails finished putting together all the technical aspects of Amy's speed suit, which was actually slow for him considering he'd started at eight. But it wasn't without just cause. The fox boy had been attempting to multitask by trying to figure out how he could arrange for Sonic and Amy to run together without having to flat out ambush him. _"Of course, if Amy_ did _ambush him, I wouldn't really mind all that much."_

The twin-tailed genius was still understandably miffed at his big brother figure. The immaturity Sonic was displaying was enough to make Tails want to bang his head against a wall. Sonic was definitely a role model when it came to being brave and doing the right thing, but when it came to dealing with girls, all those admirable qualities Sonic had went right out the window. "One of these days Sonic, one of these days." Tails was about to begin the next phase when a rather troubling thought occurred to him. "Uh oh..."

He was taken out of his anxiety by a knock on his door. Tails started twirling his namesakes and flew over to the door, and peeking through the peephole, he saw Cream standing in front of the door, again without Cheese. Not even bothering to question why, Tails opened the door and wordlessly let Cream in, which confused the young rabbit as she noticed that Tails flew right past her without even saying hi, and he seemed rather distraught over something.

"What's the matter Tails?"

"I just realized..." Tails replied without even looking at her as he paced back and forth in the middle of his lab. "I'm not gonna be able to finish making Amy's suit..."

Cream's eyes widened in worry. "Why not?!"

Blushing with embarrassment, Tails mumbled quietly and turned his back to her. "I don't know how to sew."

"What?"

He turned back to face her with a hopeless expression. "I don't know how to sew ok?!" Tails began pacing again. "Some genius I am, came up with all these great ideas and I can't even make it happen because I don't know how to work with _cloth."_

"Oh Tails," Cream walked up to him and reached up to put a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe I can help you! Mommy taught me how to sew when I was really little, so I can probably make the suit for you!"

Tails turned his head to look at the little rabbit with a shocked expression. "Seriously? You know how to do all the measurements and everything too?"

"Well, usually _Mommy_ did that part." Cream admitted with a bashful expression before turning cheerful again. "But once she showed me how big I needed to make it, I was able to use the sewing machine to make it! So if you can just show me how big it needs to be, I can do it for you!"

The fox boy beamed at her. "Cream, you're a life saver!" he rushed over to his desk and hastily shoved all of his unneeded equipment aside and placed a large sewing machine on the desk. "Amy gave this to me a few months ago so that just in case anyone needed to fix their clothes right after a mission, they could. Think you can use it?"

Cream hopped up onto the stool in front of Tails' desk and looked the machine over. "It's just like the one I have at home! I should be able to use this, no problem!" Cream hopped off the stool and looked around for the fabric, but frowned a bit when she saw none. "Where's the fabric you were going to use?"

Tails' eyes widened again and he smacked his palm against this forehead in frustration. "I didn't get any! Amy was so worried about it being _'stylish'_ that I never even bothered to get any fabric." he pounded his forehead with the side of his fist a few times. "I'm such a moron."

Cream really frowned at that. "You're not a moron Tails! You're _really_ smart! You just need a little help every once in a while, that's all!"

The young genius relinquished a small smile at that. "Thanks Cream." Sighing, he began to pace the lab again. "Ok, so the first thing I need to do is buy some fabric for the suit, and then I need to figure out a way to get Sonic to run with Amy at all that it won't seem too suspicious."

"What if you got them to race?!"

Tails turned his head to look at the young rabbit, who was smiling widely at him after her suggestion. "It's not a bad idea, but Sonic wouldn't agree to a race unless he actually believed there was some decent competition. Amy would be able to keep up with the suit alright, but since that's supposed to be a secret, there's no way to convince Sonic to race Amy." Tails started pacing again. "What I need is some strong competition to get Sonic to take the challenge. His competitive nature is the key, but he needs someone he believes he can legitimately compete against and not just run right past them."

The rabbit tilted her head in curiosity. "Who are you going to get to do that?"

Tails stopped and rubbed his chin with his eyes closed, and then they suddenly opened and Tails grinned at Cream. "I know _just_ who I need to talk to, and I might even get to kill two birds with one stone!" Tails noted Cream's sudden horrified expression and sighed in amusement. "It's just a figure of speech, it means I can take care of two things at once."

"Ohhh, ok." Cream nodded in understanding. "So who are you going to talk to?"

"You'll see." Tails grabbed the rabbit's hand and led her out the door. "Come on Cream, we're gonna go see someone...but first, I'll need a Chaos Emerald."  
_

 **A/N: Cream was useful! (Sort of an homage to Brainscratchcommentaries there). Anyways, so now Tails has finished the wiring, and Cream is gonna take an active role in helping him get this project going. But who are they going to go see? And where the heck is Amy anyway? The answers will come in the next chapter, where a new character is introduced.**

 **Also, if you haven't seen my latest Sonic story titled "A Light in Darkness", please go check it out! I would love to get some feedback on it, especially since it's gonna be the replacement for my old "epic adventure". I believe it's much better than the now deleted Dash Adventure, but I need reviews if I'm to know for sure. So read and review this fic and that one if you can! Heck review everything! I love getting reviews lol. Until next time dear readers!**


	7. Chapter 7

**This story got updated?! Crazy, I know. Yes ladies and gentlemen, this is back again. I haven't abandoned it, I never plan to abandon any of my stories unless I'm planning an improved version somewhere down the line: See "A Light in Darkness" as opposed to "Dash Adventure." So I'm finally back with this, and I've brought you all a decently-sized chapter (for this story), hope this makes up for it! I own nothing except the story.  
** _

Angel Island, a tropical paradise that was the home to the most powerful gem in all of existence, the Master Emerald. Also there was the guardian of this large jewel. Knuckles the Echidna, the last of his kind and the chosen guardian of the Master Emerald slept peacefully with his arms propping up his head and his legs crossed as he basked in the warmth of the sunlight. It wasn't a particularly exciting life, but it was his sworn duty, and the warrior took that duty very seriously. But even warriors needed rest now and then.

Being the guardian of the Master Emerald had its pros and cons to be sure. His acute senses allowed him to sense whenever someone was close by, but it also made it so that even the slightest sound could wake him from his slumber, as he had to be ready to fight at a moment's notice. This time however, the noise he heard was coming from a very familiar sounding engine. The echidna opened one eye and saw the original Tornado flying towards the island, he groaned as he sat up and rolled his neck a few times as he prepared for the arrival of Miles "Tails" Prower.

It wasn't long before the plane landed, and both Tails and Cream hopped out and greeted their friend. "Hey Knuckles, how's it going?" the fox boy said with a wave and a smile.

"Can't complain," the echidna said with a shrug. "So what's up? Eggman causing trouble again and you need my help?"

"Uh no, it's not Eggman, not this time." Tails rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "See, we kinda need to grab one of the Chaos Emeralds for a project I'm working on."

At this, Knuckles raised an eyebrow. Since their last adventure, the team decided that Knuckles would guard the Chaos Emeralds as well for safe-keeping. "What kind of project?"

"An important one!" Tails started walking past him. "So we'll just go and grab one and we'll be on our way."

Knuckles quickly cut off the fox boy and spread his arms out defiantly. "Sorry Tails, if you want one of the Chaos Emeralds, you're gonna have to tell me why you want it, and it better not be because of something stupid like last time."

Tails made a face at that. "I resent that accusation! My last idea wasn't stupid!"

"You tried to harness the power of the emeralds to make the ultimate smoothie that would make you stronger if you drank it."

"And it would've worked if I hadn't miscalculated! I can literally give you the exact odds I would've gotten food poisoning instead of a success!"

Knuckles shook his head. "Do you want the Chaos Emerald or not?"

Tails groaned and looked back at Cream for support a moment, but it was clear by the timid look on her face that she didn't want to argue with the emerald guardian. "Alright, fine! I'll tell you!" Tails grumbled under his breath before looking back up at Knuckles. "I need the Chaos Emerald because I'm working on a project that will allow for someone to-hey!"

"To hey?" Knuckles raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Mr. Knuckles, look behind you!"

"What?" Knuckles looked over his shoulder, and his brow furrowed in anger at what he saw. "You! How many times do I have to chase you off?!" Knuckles quickly took off running towards the emerald shrine, but he was a step too slow as the figure took off into the sky with a Chaos Emerald in hand. "Oh no you don't!" Jumping onto the Master Emerald, Knuckles leaped into the air and managed to wrap his arms around the torso of the thief, and the two came crashing down to the ground with a hard thud.

"Can't keep your hands off me, eh Knuckie?"

"Don't flatter yourself," the echidna growled at the flirtatious jewel thief known as Rouge the Bat. "Now give back that Chaos Emerald or you're gonna be sorry!"

Rouge responded by slapping the echidna across the face, leaving a red mark on his muzzle and prompting him to release her. "You know you really need to work on your manners, this is no way to treat a lady!"

"There's a lady around here?"

"Maybe if you'd open your eyes once in a while instead of sleeping on the job-"

"Why you stuck-up-!"

"GUYS!" The two feuding treasure hunters stopped their back and forth after the fox boy's sudden outburst, and Tails walked in-between them to ensure they wouldn't start again. "This should actually work out..." Tails focused his attention on Rouge. "You want a Chaos Emerald, Rouge? Well, you can have one."

"Tails!"

The fox boy swiveled his head for a moment to glare at Knuckles fiercely before turning back to Rouge. "Why don't we make a deal?"

"You've got my attention kiddo." Rouge replied with a charming smile.

"Good." Tails smirked. "In exchange for a Chaos Emerald, I need you to do me a very simple favor."

"Which is?"

"I need you to find Shadow," both Cream and Knuckles' eyes widened at the mention of the black hedgehog's name. "And convince him to join the race that I'm organizing in about two weeks."

Rouge raised a curious eyebrow. "Gotta be honest, that's not at all what I was expecting. I was sure you were gonna ask me to be a guinea pig for one of your crazy inventions." She placed a hand on her hip. "Mind if I ask why it's so important that Shadow joins this race of yours hun?"

Tails flinched for a moment, but then he thought up another plan. "How badly do you wanna know?"

Rouge just smirked. "You're not a bad negotiator fox boy. Tell ya what, something tells me you need more than just _one_ favor from me, so if you give me more than _one_ Chaos Emerald, I'll be at your beck and call for whatever crazy project you're working on. I get the feeling it's going to be _very_ interesting."

"Tails..."

Tails flinched again at Knuckles' low growl. "I know Knuckles...but...look at it this way, it's not like the Chaos Emeralds would be in any danger with Rouge, like she's gonna let get their hands on 'em once she has them in her possession, am I right?" he chuckled nervously.

"He's got a point there Knuckie, I'd make a fantastic guardian, don'tcha think?"

"ANYWAY!" Tails started shoving Knuckles back when he made a move to brawl with Rouge again for her comment, and didn't stop until Cream tugged on the emerald guardian's arm and got him to stop, albeit begrudgingly. "I'll give you two Chaos Emeralds, do we have a deal?"

"Make it three, and I'm all yours kiddo."

"Three?!"

"It's a deal!" Tails quickly cut off the blustering echidna, shook Rouge's hand and ran over to the shrine and grabbed two more emeralds to go along with the purple one she'd originally snagged. "Here ya go!"

"Mmm...there's no reason I can't have the colors I want is there?" the bat girl pouted. "I'd prefer the light-blue and red emeralds to the yellow and green, they're more my style."

Tails rolled his eyes and simply followed through with her request, doing his best to ignore Knuckles who was turning more and more red as the deal went down, no doubt due to the unadulterated rage flowing through his veins. "There, are we good now?"

"Oh we're good." Rouge cradled the three glowing jewels against her ample bosom and snuggled her face into the emeralds in admiration. "We're _more_ than good." she gave a husky laugh and glanced briefly at the young scientist before staring back down at the emeralds. "Pleasure doing business with you hun, if I'd known getting my hands on the emeralds would be this simple, I could've saved myself a lot of trouble."

"I have a hard time believing it myself." Knuckles snarled, although his disdain seemed aimed more at Tails than Rouge at this point.

"Trust me Knuckles, it'll all be worth it in the end!" Tails exclaimed.

Knuckles scoffed and stomped over to the shrine, but not before sending a vicious glare over his shoulder to Rouge, who was still blissfully unaware of anything going on around her. "Mark my words Tails, the next time you see me, it better be because you're getting the emeralds back!"

"Thank you so much Mr. Knuckles, we'll make sure everything is taken care of!" Cream smiled brightly at the guardian, who had no comeback to the sweet retort by the young girl. Cream then turned her attention back to the matter at hand. "Excuse me Miss Rouge? Can you help us now?"

"Hmm?" Rouge glanced up from her pleasure-induced haze and looked down at the little rabbit who was tapping her shoulder. "Oh that's right," she sighed and looked back down at the emeralds in disappointment. "Until next time my beauties." Rouge put the emeralds away and crossed her arms over her chest. "Alright then, time for me to fulfill my end of the bargain I guess. I'll make sure Shadow shows up at your race." she opened her wings to take off.

"Wait!"

And she quickly closed them again after Tails' outburst. "What is it?"

"Well...the deal was you'd be at my beck and call, which means you're gonna see this whole project through." Tails looked up determinedly at the G.U.N. agent. "Before you find Shadow, we need your help with something more...glamorous in nature."

Rouge raised an eyebrow at that. "Shadow and glamorous don't exactly fit in the same sentence. What's going on here kiddo?"

"We'd better tell her now Tails." Cream said.

"Yeah, you're right Cream." Tails took a deep breath and looked right into the jewel thief's eyes. "Come with us to Station Square, we'll explain everything on the way."

"If you say so," Rouge climbed onto the Tornado and folded her wings to avoid getting blown off as the plane took off into the air. "Alright Tails, start talkin'."

"Well, it all started yesterday..."  
_

 **A/N: Well, Rouge is on board! And now the plan is getting to go on as scheduled. All it cost was three Chaos Emeralds and a very irate guardian lol. Let's be honest though, like the emeralds would actually be in danger with Rouge, all she wants is to admire them because all the world's gems are hers to keep! Don't worry Knuckles, it could be worse.**

 **Anyway, hope everyone enjoyed that, dunno when I'll get around to updating again. So many projects, so little time. But still, leave a review and let me know what you think! Until next time!**


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